Nebraska Newspapers

    THE SEMI.WEEKLY TRIBUNE, NORTH PLATTE, NEBRASKA.
Home
M
ade Less Easy
Government Makes Elaborate Ar
rangements to Discourage
Private Plants.
TAXES, FINES AND PRISON
Manufacture of Whisky In Commercial
Quantities Made Especially Diffi
cult Home Stills Are Offi
cially Defined.
Washington. Ambitious drinkers
who exported to set up their own little
ntllls nnd t mi 1 1 1 11 1 n it ti Individual oasis
against tho mttloniil drought nro to ho
checked up, tnxed nnd policed by the
interim! revenue bureau of the treas
ury ilepnrtuient.
Tlio hurenu sent- notice to every col
lector of Interiinl revenue of the re
quirements for registering nnd paying
tnxes on stills. The regulations nre
rigid nnd nppnrontly the only escnpe
for the Individual delimit will he In
the home manufacture of the distillery
ns well as tho spirits.
Thon Is given the following notice:
"Under federal laws and regulations
manufacturers of stills aro required
to pay an annual special tax of $50
nnd In addition -thereto $20 for each
fit III or worm for distilling made hy
them. All persons, firms or corpora
tions thus manufacturing n still or
worm to he used In distilling are deem
ed manufacturers of stills. This ap
plies to nil stills capable of the pro
duction of distilled spirits but does
nrt apply to' smnll laboratory stills
(usually glass) for legitimate labora
tory purposes or to water stills which
lire not capable of nnd Intended for
tho production of distilled spirits. Or
dinarily Inborntory stills are small,
constructed of glass and not adapted
to tho commercial production of dis
tilled spirits.
How Stills Are Defined.
"Any stills or worms udnpted to tho
production of distilled spirits for com
mercial or beverage purposes nre pre
sumed to bo Intended for such use nnd
In consequence tho manufacture there
of Involves the manufacturer In special
tnx liabilities as above. In order to
remove such presumption in tho enso
of stills and worms Intended to bo
used In tho manufacture of essentlnl
oils, vinegar and like products and In
purification of water (other than small
glass laboratory stills) the person for
whom such still Ib made will he re
quired to submit to tho collector evl
denco under oath showing that tho
utlll Is not to bo used for tho produc
tion of spirits and setting forth spe
cifically tho actual purposes for which
It Is to be used.
"The manufacturer of any still, boiler
or any vessel to he used for the pur
pose of distilling must, before tho
NOVEL AMERICAN SUBMARINE
r i i 1 tmirMn linn r T 'i 'V. -"w. v t
A moat unusual view of Hie new United States "0"-boat with Its sub
merging nppurntus above water. Several submarines of thjs type aro now at
i anchor with the rest of the Atlantic licet In tho North river at New York.
'The "0"-boat operated on this side of the water during tho war, und performed
credltnbly. -
GIVE FOOD
(Allies Plan Larger Ration for
7,000,000 Foes.
German Need of Fats Recognized In
Order by Military Com
mission. Coblenz. Tho averago uniform rn
itlon for tho 7,000,000 Inhabitants of
jOie occupied areas of Germany will
Ibe 030 grams a day for each person,
according to tho decision of the Inter
allied military commission for food
isupply for tho civilian population on
tho left bank of tho Itblne.
In weight this Is an Increase of 80
itrrnms a day over that provided by the
Iflcrmnn war regulations, but cstl
.Ininted In calories It means an Increase
lof 2.-100 calories a day from tho 1,-100
allowed by the Germans. Tho in
'crenso In calorics won based on
iports made by food experts thnt the
Germans needed more fat.
Distilling
same Is removed from the place of
manufacture, notify In writing the col
lector of the district In which such
still, boiler or other vessel Is to be set
up, by whom It Is to be used, Its ca
pacity and the time when the same Is
to be removed from the place of manu
facture. Manufacturers of stills for
Industrial distilleries aro exempt from
the special tnx for the inanufacturo
of such stills, but they are required
to obtnln permits for their rcnvovnl
In the usual manner. Penalty for fail
ure to tile return of special tax with;
In the time prescribed by law Is 25
per centum of the nmount of the tax.
Penalty for carrying on the business
of manufacturer of stills without hav
ing paid the special tnx required by
law Is u lino of not less than 5100 or
more than $5,000 and Imprisonment
of not loss than 510 days or more than
two years.
"All stills set up, whether Intended
for use or not, must he registered
with the collector of the district on
ussian
Prisoners Straggling Back Find
Fatherland Greatly Changed
Since War. .
MAKE BREAD OUT OF STRAW
Returning. Soldiers Tell Tales of Piti
ful Suffering From Hunger In
Villages Through Which"
They Passed.
With the American Forces In North
Hussla. Russian soldiers returning
from Germany to tlielrho:nes In north
ern Ilusslirfind their fatherland vastly
changed since tliey went to war. Scores
of these soldiers are passing through
the bolshevik lines and making their
way to the American and other allied
outposts.
They tell tales of pitiful sulterlng
from lumper In the villages through
which they passed. One Of them, F.
Evlnniploff of Archangel, thus de
scribes his experiences:
Famine Reigns at Petrograd.
"At Petrograd we were sent to bar
racks, where a bolshevik otllcer start-
. - . . i.
ei m reuu us uie soviet program. i no
prisoners protested. 'Give us lirst
something to eat, and then read us
your program, they cried. Then the
commissar gave up trying to rend the
INCREASE
The decision to allot each Inhab
itant 030 grams dally means that the
commission agrees to supply the food
not supplied by the Germans. The
food will bo pnld for by the German
government. It will he distributed
through enrds Issued hy the Germans
at prices sanctioned by the commis
sion. Tho food is to come from the sup
plies accumulated by the Interallied
relief organization and the army sup
ply depots In the occupied zones will
get 10 per cent, of the total allotted
by tho Interallied organization for
Germany.
Tho population of tho American
area of occupation Is 8.10,000 and Is
111 per cent of the occupied zones. Tho
distribution of food will begin nssoon
as It can bo brought from Itottcrdnm.
The number of women employed hy
tlu railroads of tho United States In
dented 70 per cent during the war,
K
form -M In duplicate. Tiiis applies to
all stills of whatever size or Tor what
ever purpose Intended, whether for
distillation of spirits or for pharm
aceutical or other purposes except as
to smail glnss laboratory stills. Pen
alty for failure to register still Is a
forfeiture of the still or distilling ap
paratus which Is not so registered, to
gether with all personal property In
tho possession or custody or under con
trol of such offender and found In his
building or In any yard or tnclosuro
connected with the building In which
tho same may be set up.
Tip for Home Distillers.
"A person who innkos a mash fit. for
diminution Is held to be a dlstlllor
oven though he does not vnporlzo or
condense tho spirit. A ninsb fit for'
distillation Is a fermented beer In
which alcohol Is genernted. Obviously
the malting of such a mash Is not per
missible In tho home brewing of beer
or home production of spirits, since
It renders the manufacturer liable as
an Illicit distiller. Penalty for Illicit
distillation Is forfeiture of the distil
lery and distilling apparatus and all
distilled spirits and raw materials for
the production of distilled spirits found
on tho distillery premises, and a lino
of not less than $500 or more than $5,
000 and Imprisonment of not less thnn
six months or more than three years."
Famine
Widespread
o-o-o-o-o-o-oo--o-
Can Use Growing
Trees for Radio
Washington. Before the
American Physical society, hold
ing Its annunl spring meeting
at the United States bureau of'
standards, MaJ. Gen. George O.
"Squler, chief signal olllcer of the
army, announced a discovery
which In Importance and mag
nitude will startle the world.
It Is the discovery that grow
ing trees can be used ns natural
antennae for the radio telephone
nnd telegraph In both sending
and receiving messages. Hy
means of a metallic contact
simply a spike driven Into a tree.
It Is possible to obtain nnd
transmit dispatches from nnd to
all corners of the earth.
program, snylng we were not fit ele
ments for propaganda, and left us.
Each of us received 25 rubles In ad
vance on his salary.
"Famine was reigning In Petrograd.
The first category (working people of
bolshevik- sympathies) received one
pound of oats dally. The second cate
gory received mio-half pound. The cit
Izens grind the onts In coffee mills to
make Hour for bread. For Christians
tho Petrograd Inhabitants received two
potatoes for each person. A slice of
bread Is sold for 25 rubles. There was
no tobacco. People smoked cabbage
and nettle. -
Wait for Bread Two Days.
"The situation rtt Vologda wns the
same as la Petrograd. It was famine,
and tho population stood In line for
bread sometimes two days. There was
no prlvntu commerce. The shops were
empty."
On his way from Vologda toward
Archangel a commissar tried to coax
Evlnmplefl Into serving In the red
army, and on his refusal sent him back
to Vologda. A peasant hid lilin in a
load of hay and carried him to his un
cle's home In Torozk. In all the vil
lages ho passed through, he said, there
was famine. The ponsants cut straw,
cook It and make bread. Eventually,
nfter a long journey mi foot through
tho snow, Hvlnmpleff reached his
home.
When such prisoners reach tho terri
tory of the provisional government of
tho north they are cared for as well as
possible. Many of them voluntarily
have Joined the white guard army be
cause of their hntred of the bolshovlki.
Quite Enough.
Ilohokcn, N. J. John Kelly, seven
ty, told the Judge his wife had him
arrested 100 times. "That's enough,"
wild the judge, dismissing the wife's
charge.
TRAINING BETTERS HIS STATE
Young Chlcagoan Is Aided to Higher
Wage by the Department
of Labor.
Washington How an unskilled
workman lucrensed his wages (50 per
cent In six months through the work
of the training service department of
labor Is revealed In the story of a
young man who six months ago went
to a'Chleago machlno shop and foun
dry looking for a Job. Ills only ex
perience Jmd consisted In pushing u
wheelbarrow to and from n concrete
mixer.
They gave him a Job as a sweeper,
hut after working In the shop a few
weeks ho became Interested In the ma
chines, particularly the boring mills
and lrhnd screw machines. Because
he spent more time watching tho ma
chines thnn In working, he fell behind
In his work, but the foreman learning
of bis attraction toward tho machines,
turned him over to the training In
structor for n chance.
DRAG ROADS AT PROPER TIME
Fully as Important as It Is That High,
ways Should Be Done Right
Keep Ruta From Forming.
(Prepared by the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture.)
It is fully ns Important that a road
bf dragged at the right time as It Is
that the dragging be properly done.
Furthermore, the difficulties Involved
In proscribing definite rules for deter
mining when dragging should be done
an equally as great as those already
encountered In attempting to define
how It should be done. Only very gen
eral statements concerning this fea
ture of the work can properly be mndo
here, nnd much must be left to the ex
perienced Judgment of those who de
cide when the dragging of any particu
lar road Is to be started nnd when It
Is to bo stopped.
The rule frequently cited that all
enrth roads should be dragged lmine
dmtely after every rain, Is In many
ei ses entirely impracticable and Is also
Drag on a North Carolina Road.
very misleading because of the condi
tions which It falls to contemplnte. It
Is true thnt there nre many road sur
faces composed of earth or earthy ma
terial which do not become very muddy
under traffic, even during long rainy
seasons, nnd since such surfaces usu
ally tend to harden very rapidly ns
soon ns the weather clears up, It may
be desirable to drag roads of this kind
immediately after a rain. Such roads,
however, would not-ordlnnrlly need to
bo dragged after every rain, because
of the strong tendency thnt they nat
urally possess of holding their shape.
On the other hand, mnny varieties of
clay and soli tend to become vers
muddy under only light traffic nfter
very moderate rains, nnd, It is evident
thnt roiuls constructed of such ma
terials could not always be success
fully dragged Immediately after n rain.
Sometimes, In fact, It may be neces
sary to wait until several consecutive
clear days have elapsed after n long
rainy spell before the rond Is sufficient
ly dried out to keep ruts from forming
nlmost as rapidly as they can bo filled
by dragging.
Well-constructed sand-clay topsoll
roads should not often become muddy
Kftcr they nro onco well compneted.
They mny become seriously rutted,
however, under heavy traffic, during
rainy weather, and nro almost sure to
need drngglng several times each year.
Such roads should ordinarily be drag
ged as soon nfter n rain as prac
ticable as otherwise the surface soon
becomes dry and hard, so that It Is
ncccssnry to do ""considerably more
dragging In order to fill tho ruts. Fur
thermore, the muterlul which tho drag
moves .will not compact readily unless
It contains n considerable amount of
moisture.
Gravel roads can be effectively mnln
' tallied with n rond drag only when the
' gravel composing the surface Is fine
I grained and contains n considerable
' quantity of clny earth. Gravel road
I surfaces In which this condition pre
', vnlls not Infrequently get badly out of
I shape during wet wenther, and may
. sometimes require considerably more
attention than well-constructed snnd-
clay topsoll roads. The time for drag
ging grnvel ronds Is unquestionably
while thoy nre wet. In fact, the best
results nro sometimes obtained by do
Inp the dragging after the road has be
come thoroughly soaked and while It
Is still raining.
In general, It may bo snld that tho
best time to drag any type of road la
when tho material composing tho sur
faco contains sufficient moisture to
compact readily nfter It lias been
moved by the drng nnd Is not sum
clently wet for the traffic following tho
drag to produco mud.
Chango in Road Sentiment. -
When wo consider the fact that such
a largo proportion of our population
are owners of automobiles It Is not
difficult to undcrstnnd tho change In
sentiment In regnrd" to road building
that has recently developed.
Big Saving In Hauling.
If our main highways were improved
with permnnent surface, we would
certainly save 8 or 0 cents per ton
mile In hauling the Immense Interstate
commerce that each year originates
from agriculture, uilno and forest.
Black-Strap Gasoline the Latest Jitney Saver
WASHINGTON. From tho records of tho United States pntcnt office ha,
come the carefully guarded secret of the ns yet unnamed superfuel, In
vented for driving war planes nnd now being developed to supplnnt gasoline
Wherever motors run. This liquid '
fuel, past the experimental stage In
development, wns used In virtually
every war plane put out by the gov
ernment. Tho formuln utilizes alcohol
us n basis, with 25 per cent of gasoline
and n heavy mixture of petroleum
hydrocarbons. It develops n propelling
power nearly as grent as some of tho
ulgh explosives.
It Is the properly of two com
panies which own and control about 05
per cent of the alcohol capacity of the
rountry. Before the discovery the two companies were producing more thnn
100,000,000-gnllons yearly of Industrial or noiibcveragc alcohol.
What Is still more startling Is the Inexhaustible character of the sourco
of the baste elements. Black-strap molasses, the refuse from the refining of
sugar, Is the source of the alcohol In the blend.
Tho invention means thnt the nvnllnblo supply of gnsollne Is multiplied
four times, It Is said. At the some time yet Immeasurable units In power nre
obtained. It Is free from nil sediment, practically odorless and absolutely
smokeless. v
What the market price will bo the thing motorists the wortd over will bo
Interested In Is still n mntter of speculation. To the government the product
has gone without cost. To date figures on the cost of production nro still a
secret, though It Is kuown to be much
Arthur A. Backhaus, a Baltimore
coinpnnTes, Is credited with the Invention.
Whnt about that threatened gasoline shortage?
And what, oh, what, Is the price?
The Legion for Jobs for Mustered-Out Soldiers
fTpHE LEGION" Is the name of u nntlonal organization of soldiers of which
tlio nnnounceu purpose is to mnuc congress proviue returneu ugnting
men with n Job. It hns been In formutlon nbout u month aud has branches in
7 IK
LEGION
F0RJ
delegates to state conventions, nnd tho state legions will name representatives
to the national convention, the first meeting of which will bo held soon In
Washington, when n permnnent organization will be perfected.
The fee for admission to membership Is 2. The monthly dues aro 25
cents, payable in advance. Men who hold commissions nre, ineligible for membership.
The declaration of principles says
demobilized men of the United States service Is tho opportunity for employ
ment for all. This the government could nnd. should have provided them last
November, ns soon ns demobilization began. The failure and neglect of tho-
govcrnment four months after the armistice was signed to take any single step-
to provide employment for the millions
ers wns Inexcusable, and the legion Intends that this neglect shall not be
repeated nt the speclul session of congress to be held this summer."
If congress does not meet these
congress thnt will.
The legion also wants congress to
will cost tho nntion only nbout $2,000,000,000.
Katmai, Alaska: Valley
OltD hns been received by the Nntlonnl Geographic society that the sixth
expedition of the society, headed by Prof. Robert F. Griggs, to explore tho-
fnmous Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes
opposite the extensive volcanic urea
about Mount Kntmal.
Professor Griggs headed the soci
ety's first expedition to the Kntmal
district In 1015. The following year
ho discovered the volcanic area there
which has been cnlled one bf the
greatest natural wonders of the world
and which was set aside by Presi
dent Wilson ns a national monument
September 21, 1018.
This year tho party Includes chem-
ists, a petrographer, n zoologist,
other scientific men, and motlon-plcturo photographers. Efforts will be made
to determine whether helium, the nonlnflammable gas which Is expected to
revolutionize tho science of ballooning; Is to be found about Katmai.
Tha Katmai National monument contains about one million acres. It lies
on tho south shore of Alaska in n volcanic belt that has shown extraordinary
volcanic activity of late years. Tho eruption of Mount Kntmal In June, 1012,
ranks in tho first order of volcanic explosions. This explosion left n crater
with n circumference of 8.4 miles. There is n lake In tho bottom of it about
a square mile in area. The precipice from tho lake to the highest point in the
rim Is 3,700 feet.
The Valley of Ten Thousand Smokes lies a few miles west of tho crater..
It Is several miles long. From its bottom rise mnny thousands millions, Mr
Griggs believes of Jets of steam. Thousunds of these jets rise COO feet; many
rise 1,000 feet. All mergo Into one gigantic cloud. Tho valley is a land of
geysers In the making.
Spike a Tree and "Floragraph" or "Floraphone"1
BEFORE the American Physical society, holding Its nnnunl spring meeting
at tho United States bureau of standards, MaJ. Gen. George O. Squler,
chief plgnnl officer of the army, has unnounced a discovery which In Importance
. startles the world. It is tho discovery
y "TVTll k HomTVJ
i I, fl fWsupreR ar J.
paratus. Messages have been received
from England, France, Germany and Italy. In addition to this, radio tele
phone conversations, in which tho voice is transmitted just as clearly as in th&
ordinnry metallic circuit telephone, have been carried on from treo to tree in
the woods on tho outskirts of Washington. Up to date these conversations
have extended u distance of three miles, but there never has been a test for
distance.
"It is possible," nccordlng to General Squler, "to conduct long-rnnge tele
phone conversations, limited, of course, only to the power of the npparatus."
Tha messages carried over this tree telephone nnd telegraph system have
been named by General Squler. They are to be "florugrams." Tho tree tele
phone Is to bo n "floraphone ;" the tree telegraph n "florugraph."
With the floraphone and the airplane not even a golfer can find an excuse
tor not getting home to supper.
No wonder the government handed back the wire lines.
cheaper than gasoline.
chemist In tho employ of one of the-
various parts of the country. Marvln.
G. Sperry Is national chairman of the
organization. Ho Is forty-five years of
age, and before the wnr wns n railroad
engineer In Ironton, O. ITo was a for
mer private In the Twelfth regiment
of railroad engineers nnd was one of
the first Ynnks to land' in France. He
still wears his uulform with three gold,
stripes and a wound chevron.
The plan of organization is to es
tablish one or more legions In every
town. The town legions will elect
In pnrt: "The first demand of tho-
of demobilized soldiers and wnr work-t
demands, the legion Intends to elect n.
pny every returned soldier $500, which
of Ten Thousand Smokes
has arrived at Kodlak Island, Alaska,,
-ggsrHti.. jcS5Z&? jl. Faigfo
that growing trees can bo used ac
nnturnl antennae for tho radio tele
phone and telegraph, In both sending
and receiving messages. By means of
a metallic contact simply a spike
driven into n tree It Is possible to
obtain and transmit dispatches from"
und to nil the enrth.
General Squler has been in com
munication with Europe for several
months by means of the tree radio ap